Venezuela: What happened to Juan Guaidó?
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On January 13, 2019, the SEBIN irregularly detained the president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó. LatinAmerican Post tells you more
The illegal capture
In the first hours of Sunday, January 13, 2019, a commando of the SEBIN, National Intelligence Service, illegally intercepted the car where Juan Guaidó was being transported.
Leer en español: Venezuela: ¿Qué pasó con Juan Guaidó?
According to the CNN newspaper, the news was known thanks to the official Twitter account of the president of the National Assembly, he was alerted of what happened at 10:44 am. The tweet stated the following:
"We alert the world and the country that today # 13Ene a SEBIN command intercepted the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela @jguaido and we do not know his whereabouts"
Later, at around 11:00 am the OAS president, Luis Almagro alerted the international community of what happened. As well as the National Assembly (NA), which published a video showing the illegal capture, as mentioned by Semana magazine.
Funcionarios del Sebin interceptaron y se llevaron, hasta ahora sin rumbo conocido , al Presidente de la Asamblea Nacional, Dip. @jguaido . El hecho ocurrió bajando a la Guaira, a la altura de El Limón. #13Ene pic.twitter.com/3jpvylk3Ar
— Asamblea Nacional (@AsambleaVE) 13 janvier 2019
Two hours after the situation, Fabiana Rosales, Guaidó’s wife, tweeted about the last thing that was known about her husband’s capture. Her tweet, which is in her official account, told about the politician’s arrest; her tweet said:
"I thank everyone for the immediate reaction of support against the abuses of the dictatorship against my husband @ JGuaido, I am already with him, the dictatorship will not be able to break their fighting spirit, we will go to the Open Town Hall".
Also read: Grupo de Lima VS Venezuela: will the sanctions work?
What Venezuela’s explanation?
After the commotion generated by the arrest of the president of the National Assembly, the government of Nicolas Maduro argued what happened.
According to the Colombian magazine Semana, the Venezuelan authorities explained that the central government of Caracas did not order the arrest, declaring it illegal.
Later, and as mentioned by CNN, it was learned that the agents involved were removed from their position, but their identities were not disclosed. "A first commissioner, who was allegedly already being investigated by the authorities for “conspiracy links”, is now being investigated by the Public Ministry for this fact", said CNN.
Why did this detention happen?
The answer to this concern was born on Friday, January 11, 2019, when Juan Guaidó (NA leader) proclaimed himself interim president of Venezuela.
According to El Espectador, the parliamentarian evoked the constitution to call free and democratic elections, since:
"These articles of the Constitution endorse this decision of the Parliament, because" they force every Venezuelan, with or without authority, to fight to restore the constitutional order."
As expected, Nicolas Maduro statement did not wait. The president described this possession as a media show made by the right to destabilize Venezuela; likewise, Iris Varela, Minister of Penitentiary Service of Venezuela, threatened Guaidó with his immediate imprisonment, as reported by El Comercio.
LatinAmerican Post | Miguel Díaz
Translated from: 'Venezuela: ¿Qué pasó con Juan Guaidó?'
